1. COWBOYS: With his ability to make plays underneath and downfield, Jason Witten is one of the NFL's elite tight ends. He's also a terrific blocker. Second-round pick Martellus Bennett will play a lot in two-tight end sets.

2. GIANTS: Assuming Jeremy Shockey is fully recovered from a broken leg, he'll be a dangerous receiving option and an above-average blocker. Kevin Boss (6-6, 253) is a huge target with soft hands but needs to work on blocking.

3. REDSKINS: Chris Cooley is a complete tight end who can find the open spots. He has excellent hands and is a solid blocker. Todd Yoder is a top-shelf blocker, and second-round pick Fred Davis has playmaking potential.

4. 49ERS: Vernon Davis is gifted and should flourish under new coordinator Mike Martz, who plans to use him at H-back and split him wide. Delanie Walker is another pass-catching option, and Billy Bajema is a blocking specialist.

5. BEARS: Desmond Clark is a dependable blocker and receiver but lacks downfield speed. The Bears expect Greg Olsen to be a bigger threat this year. He has good size (6-5, 254) and speed but must improve his blocking.

6. EAGLES: Always a good receiver, L.J. Smith has improved his blocking -- vs. the pass and run -- the past couple of years. Newcomer Kris Wilson is an experienced backup, and Brent Celek could be the tight end of the future.

7. RAMS: Randy McMichael is a solid all-around player who will be featured more under new coordinator Al Saunders. Newcomer Anthony Becht will help the running attack; Joe Klopfenstein needs to step up his game.

8. PACKERS: Donald Lee is a serviceable starter with more receiving than blocking talent . Tory Humphrey has downfield ability, and rookie Jermichael Finley has great potential but can't be counted on right away.

9. BUCCANEERS: The Bucs have solid depth but lack a top all-around starter. Alex Smith, Ben Troupe and red zone specialist Jerramy Stevens will compete for the pass-catching role. John Gilmore is a solid blocker.

10. CARDINALS: With his tremendous size (6-8, 265), Leonard Pope is a red zone threat. Ben Patrick, who has good speed and reliable hands, has had a strong offseason and could challenge Pope for the starting job.

11. VIKINGS: After failing to play up to expectations in his first year with the team, Visanthe Shiancoe lost 10 pounds and has looked good in the offseason program. Jim Kleinsasser is a bruising blocker.

12. SAINTS: Mark Campbell, who is returning from a back injury, is a good run blocker. Eric Johnson has good receiving skills but wasn't consistent last year and has durability issues. Billy Miller provides solid depth.

13. SEAHAWKS: The team needs rookie John Carlson to emerge as a receiving option. He showed good quickness and sure hands in offseason workouts. Will Heller and newcomer Jeb Putzier are better blockers than receivers.

14. PANTHERS: Carolina has a group of nondescript role players . Jeff King figures to start -- and he's the closest to a complete player. Dante Rosario and rookie Gary Barnidge might help in the passing game.

15. LIONS: Michael Gaines and Dan Campbell, who is recovering from an elbow problem, are solid but not dominant blockers. Neither has caught more than 25 passes in a season.

16. FALCONS: With their move to a power attack, the Falcons added free agent Ben Hartsock and rookie Keith Zinger, both of whom are primarily blockers. Martrez Milner has the speed to help in the passing game.

The 49ers are at 4 because Davis SHOULD flourish? Cedric Benson SHOULD have flourished in Chicago but he didnt

No...because Davis actually can flourish but is held back by an inept offense. Cedric Benson was just awful because he couldn't run the ball period. His line wasn't that bad.

The only issues Davis has is that his hands aren't that great. His routes are decent, and he's a great blocker. And we already know about the speed his brings to the table and physical ability. Honestly, if Davis was on another team that had an at least decent offense, I think he would shine very easily. We've seen what he can do, it's just he never gets a chance to do it.

I think the Eagles should be ranked where the Cards are, and the Cards should be where the Eagles are. I remember last year, when Ben Patrick was coming out form Delaware, I was telling everyone that he had a bright future, but I had a little inside info (I know the nephew of Delaware's HC) But for some reason he fell, and now he is beginning to prove what I was saying, I hope he keeps it up.

How are the giants #2! they should not be that high the last two seasons shockey hasn't been great and Boss Played ok in the playoffs. they should not be #2

Shockey is a top-5 TE at his position. Whether or not you believe he is a bad person or what not, you can't say he is a bad player. Also, Boss was able to step-in and play above-average football in only his rookie year.

How are the giants #2! they should not be that high the last two seasons shockey hasn't been great and Boss Played ok in the playoffs. they should not be #2

i dunno, i mean, name another team in the NFC outside of Dallas that has more talent at TE than we do?

Shockey while overrated as a pass catcher, is probably the best run blocking "pass catching" TE in the league, and is still a very solid/above average pass catcher. The thing to remember is our offensive scheme is not build for a TE to thrive, thats why Shockey always bitches so much. Its not a TE offense.

Boss is a very solid #2 TE, and he's only gonna get better. Darcy Johnson is a sleeper TE who went on IR last year, he's excellent as a run blocking dump off TE and Matthews is a solid blocking TE who can also play H-back very well as well as pure FB.

We're very deep and effective at TE. In fact, we're deeper than Dallas, but Dallas gets the nod bc of the year Witten just had. If they still had Fasano id say its easily Dallas at #1, but if you talk about quality plus depth, you can make a solid argument for the Giants to actually be #1 on this list.

How are the giants #2! they should not be that high the last two seasons shockey hasn't been great and Boss Played ok in the playoffs. they should not be #2

Shockey's the best blocking starting TE and Boss proved he can make plays in the passing game. Shockey's stats have gone down the last 2 years, but that's because he's been used a lot more as a blocker and decoy.

Shockey while overrated as a pass catcher, is probably the best run blocking "pass catching" TE in the league, and is still a very solid/above average pass catcher. The thing to remember is our offensive scheme is not build for a TE to thrive, thats why Shockey always bitches so much. Its not a TE offense.

I'm not so sure if Shockey is overrated as a pass catcher. He may not stretch the seams like he used to when he was younger (before a handful of injuries), but I think he could do more. But as you said, the offense isn't geared on getting the most out of him as a receiver.

Tight end blocking is about as important as wide receiver blocking in today's NFL.

Not in the giants scheme, Shockey's a huge part of our dominant run game. If you don't believe me go check Jacobs' stats after Shockey went down, with no one to seal the edge Jacobs wasn't nearly as effective.